


to spin something out of nothing (from lead to gold)

by RyDyKG



Series: Insouciant [5]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: AU of my AU, Adopted Children, Blaze Hybrid Original Character, Children of Characters, Domestic Fluff, Enderman Hybrid Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Everyone Gets A Hug, Family Fluff, Family Secrets, Fox Hybrid Floris | Fundy, Friendship, Gen, Healing, Kindness, Light Angst, Mentioned Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Next Generation, POV Second Person, POV TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Parent TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Pets, Sick Character, Starting Over, Sweet, adopted only, in this house we hate character!dream, some references to an undescribed event, why have traumacore when you can have therapycore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:56:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28825575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyDyKG/pseuds/RyDyKG
Summary: Everyday you wake up, and you choose kindness, because you’ve had enough of violence throughout your entire life. And maybe, just this once, that’s okay.(Tommy isn’t expecting others to follow his route of cutting off from Dream’s puppet strings, but he gets a few neighbours anyways.)
Relationships: Everyone & Original Character(s), Floris | Fundy & Everyone, Grayson | Purpled & Everyone, Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF) & Everyone, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Everyone, TommyInnit & His Pets, TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF) & Everyone
Series: Insouciant [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2061870
Comments: 24
Kudos: 337
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	to spin something out of nothing (from lead to gold)

**Author's Note:**

> everytime I actually want to write something long, it doesn’t become as long as I hope it would’ve been ://
> 
> Y’know, I promised I would focus on **calling in some old help** , because 1) I’m not paying enough attention to it and 2) I need to finish it. and then this idea hit me like a trainwreck, and despite my two other fic ideas that I should be working on, I have this now. because god hates me, and so do i
> 
> also this is part of the ellisinnit saga but like,,, an au version of it. this takes place just before ellis has their first death. i have Plans that i unfortunately cannot write rn but... one day...
> 
> ps: this entire fic was born out of me wanting to write two (2) pretty good sentences. yeah that’s it

You’ve started a new project with Ellis.

They’ve been getting bored recently, and you’re not quite sure you want them to start doing the more dangerous things, which is why you’re building a playground for them.

Ellis gets to help with the playground. You teach them to spin the strings around the iron bars of the ‘swing’ you have made, one made of oak stairs and strings and iron bars, and you clap when they try it out for the first time, laughing in excitement and delight.

You pour over designs with them. You plan out what to build where, and with what, and how. It’s the first time you have actually let Ellis help you in a project, and they are taking to it well.

You think that they’ll be better than you one day. The thought doesn’t scare you as much as it maybe should.

Maybe if you hadn’t been cooped up with your project, you would’ve noticed your new neighbours earlier.

When you finally head outside for the first time, with Ellis staying at home out of a cold, you nearly trip on your shoes.

Ranboo, on the other hand, does. Tubbo simply stands there and gapes at you.

All three of you stare at each other. Your eyes dart between them and their… well, their frankly terrible home design.

“How long have you been here?” you ask, your voice edged with hesitance and anger and fear and a lot of different other emotions that you don’t have time to separate from one another right now.

“Three days,” Ranboo responds. He hesitates, before continuing. “I- we came here as soon as we overheard what Dream was going to do to L’manburg.”

“We didn’t know you were here, honest!” Tubbo rushes out. “I’ll be honest, we don’t really know how we stumbled here. And we don’t know why Dream hasn’t found us yet with his powers or something…”

And that does raise a good question. Why hasn’t Dream come to pester you?

Whatever the reason, your new neighbours are in front of you. You glance at their house again, and you wrinkle your nose at the shitty design of their house. You know you probably shouldn’t judge, but by god, is it an eyesore.

“Are you guys living in that house?” you point to the… you can’t even call it a house. 

“Yeah?”

“Well, it looks like shit,” you say bluntly. Tubbo flinches, and Ranboo winces. They’re making you feel guilty about insulting their home.

“Tommy, I don’t-” Tubbo tries to speak, but no matter how rude or bad it might be, you can’t handle the amount of emotions that will surely come if you let him continue on. You aren’t ready for your confrontation just yet. The wounds are still too fresh, too young, too new.

“Look, how about I help you make your house better?” you interrupt him. “I mean, I’ve learned a few things about building a damn good house, and you guys will probably need it.”

It’s kind of an excuse to spend time with them without talking about their shit. You’re pretty sure they see through you, but they let you help to make their house better, and really, it’s nice to spend time with someone else other than your pets and Ellis for once.

A few days later, Fundy and Purpled arrive.

You aren’t outside when they first do; Day had gotten hurt from a Drowned earlier in the day, and you are busy wrapping up her injured paw when a knock comes on your door.

“Tommy, can you come out?” Tubbo calls. “We have some new people!”

“Sure,” you yell back. Turning back to Day, you hum and pet her gently.

“Rest up while your boy’s gone, alright? Ellis, make sure she doesn’t move around too much.”

“Alright, Dad!” they shout as you leave the house.

“Well, you were here first, weren’t you?” Purpled asks, and you shift awkwardly.

“Doesn’t mean I own this land,” you shoot back. “Look, as long as you don’t try to pull some Dream shit or try to start any wars, I think I’ll be fine with having all of you around.”

“Good thing none of us are planning to do that,” Ranboo chuckles. “I was getting kind of, um, tired with the fighting and stuff.”

“Weren’t we all?” you hum. Nobody answers you.

“I have to ask,” Purpled says to you, just as you’re about to head home and tell Ellis about your new neighbours, and how they have to hide for now. “Why here, out of all places?”

You shrug. “I don’t know. I just kind of wanted a fresh start.”

“And you didn’t try to get back to L’manburg? Or find someone?”

“It’s not like I could’ve, anyways,” you remark. “I didn’t want Dream to find me. I just wanted a peaceful place, that’s all.”

“Was it easier to start anew than to try to fight back, then?” Purpled persists on. He doesn’t sound accusing or angry; he just sounds genuinely curious, and you can’t tell whether that’s better or worse.

You sigh. “There’s… there’s a saying, about kintsugi. They put gold over the broken parts, to embrace the flaws and the mistakes and the imperfections. But I don’t- the mistakes are too big now, Purpled. I don’t- I can’t risk it.”

Crickets start to chirp. You think Ellis must be worried by now.

“It’s not worth fighting for a dying cause, not when it causes more harm than good,” you murmur, and the words drift out into the night.

Purpled stares at you. Finally, he speaks up again. “Does this place have a name?”

“Uh, no?” you frown. “I’ve always been calling this place my ‘home’, since it technically is my home. It was just me before, so I didn’t really need to give it a name. Uh, before you guys came, that is.”

“Huh,” Purpled comments, and leaves.

You push that conversation out of your mind, and head back into your house.

The next day, you see a sign planted into the ground, just a few blocks away from Purpled’s house.

 **Haventown** , it says. **Home for the lost and the tired.**

Something in your chest warms. **_Haventown_**. That sounds nice.

Things are very awkward in the first few days.

You think that they can’t actually wrap their heads around how much you’ve changed. You catch them all staring at you in curiosity and mild surprise a few times.

You know you’ve changed. You can’t just wander around trying to fight people like Dream and Technoblade and starting wars when you have your pets and your child to care for. You don’t want to let Ellis face a world of war, and you don’t think you could handle losing any more than you already have.

Still, you do wonder why they’re surprised when you show them how to cook, or how to sew. You’ve been living alone for a while, and you have to find the best ways to do things. Ellis needs a healthy diet, too.

But slowly, they get used to it. You all form a small community. Not a country, and most definitely not a government, but a community. You trade, and you teach, and you help, and you do not fight.

It’s nice. It’s peaceful.

You’re happy.

When Ellis starts coughing wildly, you drag them to bed and start checking their temperature.

After that, everything starts going downhill pretty quick. No matter how you try, you can’t seem to figure out why or how your child is sick. And it pains you, to hear their pained coughs and sneezes, so the moment Ellis seems to settle for a while, you grab a jacket and head out.

“This is Ellis,” you rush out. “They’re a blaze hybrid, I adopted them a few months ago, and I don’t know what’s wrong, so could you please help if you can?”

You know that the door behind you is open, and that Tubbo, Fundy and Purpled are all staring inside, but you couldn’t care less about them at the moment.

Your child is in danger, and in that moment, their life matters more than anyone else’s.

Luckily, Ranboo seems to know what to do, because he barely stops before he starts ordering around. “I need a piece of glistering melon, a golden carrot, and whatever kind of stew you have on you.”

You rush to get the items, and within moments, you’re carefully watching Ranboo as he feeds the new stew into Ellis’ mouth.

“They should eat this stew once every day, preferably around the same time,” Ranboo explains. “This is a common illness that happens to- to hostile mob hybrids. They’ll be fine.”

You breathe out a sigh of relief, already making mental notes about it. “Thanks. I was really worried.”

“When did you kidnap a child?” Fundy asks in disbelief from the doorway, making you remember that, oh yeah, there’s more people here. You sigh, gently stroking Ellis’ hair.

“Like I said before, a few months back,” you explain. “They were… they were put up for sacrifice for me to kill them by their… blaze hive or whatever, and I just couldn’t leave them there. Ellis has been staying with me for months now, and I’m glad to have a child like them.”

“Love you too, Dad,” Ellis mutters sleepily, their speech slurred, and you practically melt. Your heart feels like it’s full of love for them, and it probably is.

“They look a lot like you,” Tubbo murmurs. You laugh lightly. 

“Yeah, I guess they do,” you say fondly.

“We wouldn’t have hurt them, you know?” Purpled says quietly. “I mean, you obviously have hid them for so long because of… us, right?”

“I couldn’t take chances,” you respond. “And I wasn’t sure how Ellis would’ve reacted to you. I… they’ve only known me for so long, I didn’t want them to get too overwhelmed. Ranboo, how long will it take for them to get better?”

“Uh, usually about two days to a week, I think?” Ranboo says, more as a question than an answer. “They should be getting better in around three days, though, since they look better already.”

“Then I’ll introduce Ellis to you guys formally in three days,” you say. Standing up, you tuck in Ellis better, before gesturing for them to get out. “Right, let’s not disturb them any further, and let Ellis sleep.”

Ellis is delighted to have more people around to talk to. They’re especially delighted to have other hybrids around.

You see them trailing behind Ranboo and Fundy, sometimes. They float around, blaze rods spinning around them, watching them work curiously.

In return, they indulge them. Tubbo shows Ellis how to cook honey pancakes, and Ellis finds a particular delight in roasting bacon. Purpled teaches them how to fight — supervised, that is, especially after you nearly had a heart attack when you looked out your window and saw Ellis falling over with a sword pointed to their face. Fundy starts a small project with them, and within a few days, there’s a lovely garden around Haventown, complete with a hill and a waterfall. Ranboo tells them stories about his birthplace, and teaches them about the differences between hostile and peaceful hybrids.

You’re just glad that they have more people to talk to other than you now. 

You’ve just finished feeding Day and Night, and grooming Clementine’s wings, when your front door bursts open.

“Dad?” Ellis’ voice comes through. “Can I talk to you?”

“In the dining room!” you call out, and a moment later, Ellis is walking through the doorway, and towards you. They look nervous.

“I was listening to Mr. Tubbo’s stories, and,” Ellis swallows nervously, and your eyes narrow, already planning to confront Tubbo.

“And what was the story about?” you ask softly.

“It was about, um, Philza,” they say, and oh. No wonder. “Mr. Tubbo told me about how he was treating you and all…”

“Ah,” you nod. “Well, you don’t have to be worried about me anymore. I’m past that whole thing now. And I would never treat you like that, Ellis.”

“No, I just,” Ellis pauses. “I just wanted to say something to you.”

“Uh huh?”

“I know it probably doesn’t mean much at all,” they whisper. “But after I heard all those stories about bad dads and stuff… I just wanted to say: thank you for loving me, Dad.”

You blink, and oh, tears are falling down your eyes now. You embrace your child in a hug, and pretend that you’re not crying.

“You don’t have to say thank you for that. You deserve all the love in the world, Ellis,” you say, and you know in your heart that it is true.

“I kind of envy you, sometimes.”

You stop placing blocks to stare at Ranboo in surprise. “I… what?”

“I’m being serious,” he insists, focusing on breaking the grass blocks below. “I mean, the exile must’ve been tough on you, but you ran away, and you did, and you built yourself a home, and- just- I don’t know. I wish I could’ve done that.”

You frown, and put your silk-touch shovel down, letting its spade sink into the ground. “What happened while I was gone?” you ask, confused.

Ranboo laughs bitterly, pushing the frames of his hair away. “What, did you think that Dream would stop once you were gone? There were more of us toys to play with.”

“I never once thought that way,” you respond softly, guilt and anger already bubbling inside you. “...what happened?”

“Nothing good,” is Ranboo’s quick reply. “He was… he’s gone, for now. We ran away as soon as we realised he was gone temporarily. And now we’re here, and he hasn’t found us in over a few weeks, so I think this place is safe.”

Leave it up to Dream to continue to make things shittier, even after you’ve gone away. You scowl, and pick up your shovel to begin digging again.

“And what did everyone else do?” you ask.

“I don’t- I can’t say,” he replies. “But Techno and Phil? They- they tried. They just didn’t really try in the right way. I don’t hold it against them, but…”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me,” you cut him off hastily. “Just… we’ve all been through shit from that bitch, haven’t we?”

“Uh, yeah…?”

“Exactly. So if you ever need to talk or something, just- just come to me, alright? We can break shit together and stuff. Or something. We can get the others here as well.”

Ranboo stays quiet as you continue digging. After a while, he speaks again, this time much softer. “I think I would like that.”

Neither of you mention the conversation again.

There are things Ellis is still unaware of, and things that you have no intention of telling them just yet, nor will you let the others tell them.

You have no idea how L’manburg is faring, much less the Greater SMP, but neither Fundy or Tubbo seem to want to talk about it. Ranboo refuses to say anything about Technoblade and Philza, and Purpled is reluctant to talk about everyone else.

So for now, the fantastical tales of L’manburg and revolutions and wars remain as they are to Ellis — a fantasy, a story made up for their amusement and entertainment, and nothing more. 

They do not know of the trauma all of you have. They do not know what keeps you awake and shaking at night, or what makes you flinch and pause for a while. They do not know that they have more family, other than you and Mr. Tubbo and Mr. Fundy and Mr. Purpled and Mr. Ranboo.

And you have no intentions of telling them. You refuse to let them learn of your bloody history, and it seems like the others have the same idea, too.

Maybe one day, you’ll tell them. But today, you teach them how to sew, and you hold a needle instead of a sword, and you teach Ellis how to create instead of destroy.

“You’ve changed,” Fundy says to you once, as he sits down next to you.

You blink at him. You hadn’t been expecting anyone else to come to the cliff that overlooks the little town all of you have started up.

“So have you,” you reply eventually, turning away to stare down at Haventown. “We all have.”

“Maybe, but you still want to fight, don’t you?” he asks. “You couldn’t have changed that much in so little time.”

You don’t deny his words, because he’s right.

There is a part of you that wants to be left alone. There is a part of you that wants to yell at every single one of them, and kick them out, because you’re angry and hurt and sad and so much more. There is a part of you that wants them to suffer. There is a part of you that wants them to die.

But there’s also a part of you that just wants to make amends. There’s also a part of you that just doesn’t want to fight anymore. There’s also a part of you that cares and loves them wholeheartedly and fiercely.

And, well, you don’t want Ellis to live in war, so why not make a peaceful world for them?

“Don’t you?” you reply back. Fundy shrugs.

“I’m tired of war now,” he replies, and you wonder what has happened in your absence. But there will be a time to ask, and that time is not right now.

“I don’t want Ellis to have to face war,” you say. Fundy nods in understanding, and you two sit on the hill until the sun fully sets.

With more neighbours, comes more people.

You and Fundy find a shivering girl in the cold, wearing tatters, and remembering nothing but her own name, and her ‘duty’: to kill Dream. Fundy finds a connection with her, both biologically and metaphorically, and pretty soon, there’s a new member in the village you all have created.

Penelope Soot is gentle and kind and nervous, but Ellis enjoys having a friend their age around, and you hope that they can bring her out of her shell. The two bond over flowers and animals and having good parents, and you pretend that your heart doesn’t always warm when Ellis calls you ‘the best dad ever’.

White comes next, and you only learn of their existence a week after. Purpled comes to you for childcare advice, and you give him advice on how to raise a child as you sew together fabric and clothes for the child. White is quiet and closed-off, but he’s good at fighting, and he warms up to Ellis pretty quickly. 

Jude Rexis is last, for now, and she stumbles into the town, bleeding and bruised and traumatised. Tubbo takes her under his wing; not as a daughter, not when she’s only just lost her family, but as a ward. It's a slow build to trust, but eventually, she stops flinching at every small sound.

None of the children are alright, but then again, neither are you, nor are your friends. 

It’s always a slow build for these kinds of things, but that’s okay. They have all the time in the world.

Ellis is even happier to have more people to play with, and it’s even better as they are around their age, too.

It’s a common sight to see the four of them running around, laughing and smiling happily. They like to come to your house for brunch or for an afternoon snack, and who are you to deny them?

“Can I have apple pie, Mr. Innit?” Penelope pipes up as she rushes in, tugging her red beanie over her brown hair. “If you have any leftovers?”

“Of course Dad has leftovers, we just ate them yesterday, remember?” Ellis calls, hopping onto their chair. 

“A berry jam sandwich, please,” White mumbles quietly, crouching down to pet Night when she comes, who purrs as he pets her.

“Same as Lopie!” Jude cheers, drifting over to Clementine, and petting her feathers. “Ooh, have you thought about getting some clothes for Clem? I think she’ll look nice!”

“I don’t think Clem would enjoy wearing them,” you chuckle amusedly, giving the children the food they want, smiling as you turn away while they bicker over something.

The house is always louder when they are here, and Haventown certainly isn’t the same without them around. 

Maybe you should tell them a story about Pre-L’manburg days later.

“Hey, Tommy?” Tubbo talks to you out of the blue one day, while he’s sitting on a bench in his bee sanctuary. “Do- I- did I do the right thing?”

You pause in your sewing. The half-sown brown bear for Jude is left to the side as you sit next to him on the bench.

“About what, exactly?” you question.

“Everything, I guess,” he half-shrugs. “I don’t know, I guess everything was just going downhill ever since I became president and stuff. And even- and even now, I’m still doing things wrong. Jude isn’t really comfortable around me, there’s so many things I could’ve done but I didn’t, and Big Q is still back there, and so is Sam and Puffy and so many more- I just don’t think I do anything right, you know?”

“What are you talking about?” you frown. “I mean sure, you made a couple of mistakes, but we all did.”

“My mistakes killed people, Tommy!” Tubbo snaps, hands curled into fists. “I’m the reason why Ranboo has two lives left! I’m the reason that another war has happened! I exiled you, and left you alone, and look what happened?!”

“So did mine!” you reply back, raising your voice slightly. “We both made shitty mistakes, sure! But at least- at least we tried. And maybe that might not be enough for everyone else, but they never helped us when we were at our lowest!”

The memories still haunt you, sometimes. Of everything you’ve caused — they linger in your mind during the night. Sometimes, you sit and wonder if you could’ve changed something, changed anything at all, and maybe some things wouldn’t have happened.

But you’ve decided a long time ago that it’s about time you get to be selfish. You take care of yourself, you create for yourself, you treat yourself well.

Tubbo breathes out quietly. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“Yeah,” you agree, because you’re pretty sure neither of you are ready just yet. “Yeah.”

You sit in silence for a while. The jukebox besides the bench shines under the rays of your sun. Tubbo catches your eyes, and offers a tiny smile.

“Mellohi?” Tubbo asks quietly. You smile.

“Mellohi.” you agree.

The disc is put into the jukebox, and its music starts to play. You and him sit there until sunset, and if tears are in both of your eyes? Well, neither of you mention it, so it isn’t there.

None of you have gotten the chance to confront each other yet. There’s too many possibilities to break the calamity you all have tentatively woven, too many ‘what-ifs’ and ‘hows’ that none of you particularly want to face.

But for now, you sew their tattered clothes, you trade with them, you all have dinner together every week, and there is friendship, however tentative and new it may be.

You laugh softly at a tale Ellis is telling you, about their adventures with Penelope and Jude and White. Day and Night deign to curl up on the table, and you pet them absentmindedly as Clementine flies around Ellis, who giggles and tries to playfully ‘tag’ her.

In the distance, you hear Tubbo and Ranboo talking loudly about bees and pollination. You hear Purpled humming brightly as Fundy yells about something, which causes Tubbo to screech as well, which causes all of them to start yelling.

You smile, and relish in your peaceful days.

Everyday you wake up, and you choose kindness, because you've had enough of violence throughout your entire life. And maybe, just this once, that’s okay.

**Author's Note:**

> aha hope you enjoy this fluffy fic! didnt include niki n jack for uhh reasons but still i hope this is nice aha
> 
> some more details about the children ocs because I have gotten attached and I love them:
> 
>  **Ellis Innit (EllisInnit)**  
>  Uses they/them pronouns, and doesn’t really understand gender. Yellow-orange hair and black eyes. Drops blaze rods when they die because they’re a blaze hybrid. You know the brown lower-mouth thing that blazes have? Yeah they have that too. Also has freckles.
> 
>  **Penelope ‘Kire’ Soot (Penn310pe)**  
>  Uses she/her pronouns, identifies as female. Completely human, but has a mysterious past and only remembers her name, her ‘duty’, and the fact that she’s related to Sally Soot*. Dark brown hair and blue-green eyes. She’s oddly nervous around people but warms up after some time.
> 
> _*i headcanon that wilbur’s name was originally wilbur minecraft, but after sally died, he took on her last name to honour her memory_
> 
>  **White (Whitneyed)**  
>  Uses he/him and they/them pronouns, identifies as nonbinary. Also completely human, but he has black hair and purely white eyes. Has a birthmark on his arm that’s shaped like the constellation of Aries. Doesn’t talk much, but they’re really good at PvP and building.
> 
>  **Jude Rexis (Juderex)**  
>  Uses she/her, identifies as female. Human, but her family was originally a family of hybrids, she was adopted. Brown hair that becomes green near the tips, and brown eyes. Used to have another family, but they got killed and she escaped to Haventown. She’s a really good farmer.
> 
> Uhh yeah I guess that’s it? if you want to see more fics in the ellisinnit universe leave an idea or a comment or something idk. I might write something abt Techno & Phil finding out but who knows at this point


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